Last Entry of 2011

I'll post tomorrow with a description of our trip to Disney's California Adventure and Disneyland, but today is the last of the books I finished in 2011.

449. The Royal Historian of Oz by Tommy Kovac & Andy Hirsch.
     
     After a rough start, this settles down into a very Ozzy book that I quite enjoyed. Glad I stuck with it.
450. 5 Ronin by Peter Milligan, et al. Five superheroes re-imagined as ronin. The feudal Japanese setting works for me, but I can see how it wouldn't for everyone. Still, I liked this quite a bit.
451. DC Comics Presents: The Life Story of the Flash by Mark Waid, Brian Augustyn, Gil Kane, Joe Staton & Tom Palmer. A biography of the Barry Allen Flash, from a time when it was thought he would stay dead. This is very good. I never bought it before because I thought it was overpriced. So a reprint in the cheap DC Comics Presents format was welcome.
452. Gladstone's School for World Conquerors by Mark Andrew Smith & Armando Villavert. First book about young super-villains that I recall reading. Fun stuff.
453. Captain America: Forever Allies by Roger Stern, Nick Dragotta, Marco Santucci, et al. Marvel has put out a lot of Captain America stuff in the past year or two (thanks, Hollywood), and I've been picking up the stuff I think I'd like. So far so good.
454. Essential Spider Man, vol. 8 by Len Wein, Ross Andru, et al. These comics from the 70s hold up very well.
455. Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham by Steve Skeates, Mark Armstrong, et al. Funny-animal comics from 80s Marvel. Not bad, but overpriced. I'm glad I got this on sale.
456. DC Comics Presents: Captain Atom by James Robinson, Greg Rucka & Cafu. Back-up comics from Action a year or two ago.
457. Milk and Cheese: Dairy Products Gone Bad by Evan Dorkin.
     
     This may be a one-joke strip, but given that each story is only 1-8 pages long, this makes great bathroom reading.
458. Mutts, vol. 10: Who Let the Cat Out? by Patrick McDonnell.
     
     Love this comic strip. Not necessarily funny, but always gentle.

I'll save movies for tomorrow.

Possibly My Last Post Until New Year's

Traveling next weekend. Then Christmas. So this may be the last post here until New Year's.

436. Stargazing Dog by Takashi Murakami.
     
     Very touching story about a dog's loyalty. I do wish the translation had been presented in the Japanese format, since flipped art is occasionally distracting. (Checked out of the library.)
437. Fullmetal Alchemist, vol. 26 by Hiromu Arakawa. Only one volume to go. (Library.)
438. The Secret Society of Super-Villains, vol. 1 by various. A collection of standard 70's fare from DC. The stories are okay, but there is absolutely no way this material warrants one $40 hardcover, much less the second one implied by the "vol. 1" in the title. Originally DC solicited a Showcase Presents for this material. $20 for 400-500 pages of comics printed in black and white on cheap paper would have been ideal. So glad I didn't buy this. (Library.)
439. The Show Must Go on by Roger Langridge.
     
     Odds & ends from Langridge. Very funny stuff.
440. Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse, vol. 1: Race to Death Valley by Floyd Gotfredson.
     
     Comic strips from the 30s. A great mix of adventure and humor. Looking forward to getting future volumes from the library.
441. PS Magazine: The Best of the Preventive Maintenance Monthly by Will Eisner. Here is a book that owes its existence to a creator's reputation. If Eisner weren't a legend, there would be no call to collect the best of the comics he created for an Army-published magazine about maintaining equipment. Some great art here, but the stories are mostly all-business. Fortunately, Eisner brought interest to what could have been some incredibly dull comics. (Library.)
442. Moomin, vol. 6: The Complete Lars Jansson Comic Strip. After his sister Tove stopped doing the Moomin comic strip that she created, Lars took over and kept up the gentle humor. (Library.)
443. Dragon Puncher Island by James Kochalka. (Borrowed from Teena's classroom.)
444. Hellboy: House of the Living Dead by Mike Mignola & Richard Corben. An untold tale of Hellboy's time in Mexico working as a luchador. Man, I love Corben's art.
445. DC Comics Presents: Batman: Don't Blink by Dwayne McDuffie & Val Semeiks.
446. The Misadventures of Prince Ivan by Diane Duane & Sherlock. I don't know enough about Russian folklore to know if this is an unusual retelling of an old tale or an original story from Duane, but I quite enjoyed it.
447. Captain Swing and the Electrical Pirates of Cindery Island by Warren Ellis & Raulo Caceres.
     
     Ellis takes on steampunk and the nature of police work. I loved this.
448. B.P.R.D.: Being Human by Mike Mignola, Karl Moline, et al.
     Short pieces about some B.P.R.D. agents.

Just one movie since last week:

• Hogfather. Amazingly faithful to the book. Incredibly well-done. This may go into the list of Christmas movies Teena & I watch each December. If you love Terry Pratchett's Discworld books, you have to see this.

Books, Books, Books

426. Fullmetal Alchemist, vol. 25 by Hiromu Arakawa. So close to the end. Almost there. (Checked out of the library.)
427. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick.
     
     After seeing the movie (see below), I knew I had to read this. I am glad I did. I wish I had listened to Teena sooner when she recommended it. Great book, with an interesting mix of text and pictures. (Borrowed from Teena.)
428. New Mutants: Unfinished Business by Andy Lanning, Dan Abnett, Leandro Fernandez & Michael Ryan. Pretty good super-hero stuff. I enjoyed it, but I am very glad I didn't buy this: $20 for a hardcover collection of 4 issues. Marvel seems determined to wring the last drop out of their audience. (Library.)
429. Echoes by Joshua Hale Fialkov & Rashan Ekedal. Suspense/horror. I saw the twist coming early on, and I don't like the way the ending was handled. (Library.)
430. Walt Disney's Donald Duck: Lost in the Andes by Carl Barks.
     
     Oh man, there are some great comics collected here. So glad Fantagraphics is collecting Bark's duck stories. Great mix of humor and adventure in these comics. My one quibble is that I don't know how good an idea it was to include, in the premiere volume of this new series of reprints, a story that includes African characters given that the story is from the 50s and follows the then standard depictions of the time.
431. Superman: Secret Origin by Geoff Johns & Gary Frank. Enjoyable story about the beginning of Superman's career, although I find that "one-note" is a little generous in describing a couple of the characters, and it's just a little creepy how closely Frank models Clark/Superman on Christopher Reeve. (Library.)
432. Ray Bradbury's the Martian Chronicles: The Authorized Adaptation
     by Dennis Calero. This book is too short. There isn't enough space to adequately adapt the stories, and so the art doesn't bring anything new. It just serves as a replacement for description. Occasionally awkward and confusing word balloon placement highlights how this book would have been better served by allowing more space for the story to flow. Much as I love the original, I can't recommend this. (Library.)
433. Irredeemable, vol. 6: by Mark Waid, Peter Krause & Diego Barreto. Still enjoying this series. (Library.)
434. Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four: Four-Three-Two-One... by Paul Tobin, et al. More great all-ages comics.
435. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?: Dust to Dust, vol. 2 by Chris Roberson & Robert Adler. Concluding volume of this authorized prequel. I enjoyed the story and art, and Roberson does a great job of integrating technological advances that have arisen since Dick wrote the novel. (Library.)

And now for movies from November and the beginning of December:

• K-9 and Company. Pilot for a Doctor Who spin-off that never went anywhere.
• Up. Pixar does great movies. There are a couple points where I always tear up when watching this. If you've seen it, you know where they are.
• Mystery Science Theater 3000: Secret Agent Super Dragon.
• Hugo. Great adaption of the novel I wrote about above. Scorsese really made it a love-letter to early cinema.
• Doctor Who: The Invisible Enemy. The introduction of K-9.
• Mystery Science Theater 3000: Santa Claus. Each December there are a handful of movies Teena and I always watch as Christmas approaches. This is one of them. Look for the others as the month progresses.
• The Film Crew: Killers from Space. Another bad 50s science fiction movie made fun of by MST3K alumni.

Teena's Birthday Post

I finished Mass Effect earlier today, so I'm hoping I'll be back on schedule for a while. (No guarantees though. Mass Effect 2 is available used pretty cheap, so I may just move on to it. I doubt it, though. I expect my next video game will be a re-play of Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, something completely different from the gritty science fiction I have been playing.
Anyway, on to the books I've finished in the last 3 weeks:

402. Supergod by Warren Ellis & Garrie Gastonny. The third and most apocalyptic of Ellis's three meditations on how people with superpowers would deform the world (following Black Summer and No Hero.)
403. Spider-Girl: Family Values by Paul Tobin, Clayton Henry, et al. (Checked out of the library.)
404. Secret Warriors, vol. 6: Wheels Within Wheels by Jonathan Hickman & Alessandro Vitti. The final volume of this series looking at super-spies in the Marvel Universe. It depicts things as being much grayer than is typical in superhero comics. (Library.)
405. Unwritten, vol. 4: Leviathan by Mike Carey & Peter Gross.
     
     Man, I love this series and its exploration of stories. This volume has a couple of moments that just stunned me, and I was left saying, "Of course. It couldn't be anything else." This is the best comic being published at the moment.
406. Everything, vol. 1: Blabber, Blabber, Blabber, Blabber: Comics from around 1978-81 by Lynda Barry.
     
     Barry's art and writing style have changed in the 30-some years since these comics were created, but she was good even then. Looking forward to the next volume.
407. The Legion of Super-Heroes: The Curse by Paul Levitz and Keith Giffen. Over a year of LSH comics from Levitz' peak era. Very glad these comics have been collected.
408. Neonomicon by Alan Moore & Jacen Burrows.
     
     An interesting (and very disturbing) take on Lovecraft. One I've never seen before. It ends in an oddly touching way. Moore may have become obsessed with sex as he has gotten older, but he can still write rings around most people.
409. Essential Captain America, vol. 5 by Jack Kirby, et al. Two-thirds of this book is by Kirby, and reading these comics now, I find it hard to believe there was a time I didn't like his art style. When I was a kid, I thought it was too blocky. I eventually figured things out and see Kirby for the genius he was. Great stuff (even if it is pretty damn silly).
410. DC Comics Presents: Catwoman: Guardian of Gotham by Dough Moench & Jim Balent. An Elseworlds story with Catwoman & Batman trading places.
411. Black Jack, vol. 16 by Osamu Tezuka. The penultimate volume of this medical manga. (Library.)
412. DC Comics Presents: JLA: The Age of Wonder by Adisakdi Tantimedu, Galen Showman & P. Craig Russell. Another Elseworlds story, this one setting superheroes in the early part of the 20th century. Beautiful art and a good story.
413. 20th Century Boys, vol. 17: Cross-Counter by Naoki Urasawa.
     
     At this point I can't believe there was a time I was considering dropping this series. I can't wait to see where the story goes next. This volume contains a hint at a revelation that has me more interested than ever.
414. Chew, vol. 4: Flambe by John Layman & Rob Guilory. (Library.)
415. DC Comics Presents: The Jack Kirby Omnibus Sampler. I can't afford The Jack Kirby Omnibus, so I'm making do with this. Some great old comics here.
416. Star Wars Omnibus: Quinlan Vos - Jedi in Darkness by John Ostrander, Jan Duursema, et al. Glad to see these comics collected. Ostrander has a great handle on showing somebody tempted by the Dark Side. Much better than Lucas (not that that's saying much.)
417. Showcase Presents All Star Comics by Paul Levitz, Joe Staton, et al. 70s comics set on Earth-2.
418. Ozma of Oz by L. Frank Baum, adapted by Eric Shanower & Skottie Young.
     
     I'm loving these comics adaptations of the Oz books, if for no other reason than they give me a chance to understand the jokes that went over my head when I read the books as a kid. (Borrowed from Teena.)
419. Detroit Metal City by Kiminori Wakasugi. The final volume of this absurd series about death metal in Japan. (Library.)
420. Scarlet, vol. 1 by Brian Michael Bendis & Alex Maleev. This story about a young woman fighting a corrupt system seems especially relevant given that the Occupy Wall Street movement began since these comics were published. (Library.)
421. Yotsuba & !, vol. 10 by Kiyohiko Azuma
     
     More adorableness. (Library.)
422. DC Comics Presents: Batman: Bad by Doug Moench & Barry Kitson. It'd be nice to see more of Moench's stuff get collected (and not just the Batman as a vampire stuff that has been), but I'll make do with stuff like this.
423. Essential Fantastic Four, vol. 7 by various. Super-hero comics from the 70s. The final issue in this collection was the first issue I got as part of a subscription I had when I was a kid. I'm going to have to pick up the next volume and see if the rest of those comics hold up to my memories. (I suspect they won't.)
424. FF, vol. 1: Tomorrow by Jonathan Hickman, Steve Epting & Barry Kitson. Hickman tosses out huge SF concepts all through these comics. He's a great fit for the Fantastic Four. (Library.)
425. Superman: The Black Ring, vol. 1 by Paul Cornell & Pete Woods. Ironic that Superman appears at the head of this book's title, since he doesn't appear in it. This is all about Lex Luthor and his ambition. It's tough to pull off a comic focused on a villain, but Cornell pulls it off.

Since I've been so far behind and this post is so long, I'm going to put movies off until next week.

Another Excuse

No house guest this week, but Mass Effect was calling, so no real post this week either. There's a 4-day weekend coming up, so maybe I'll get caught up then.

An Excuse

We have a houseguest this week, so no post.

Man, I'm really enjoying Mass Effect. What a great game. That's why this update is late.

391. Detroit Metal City, vol. 9 by Kiminori Wakasugi. More absurdity. (Checked out of the library.)
392. Stumptown by Greg Rucka & Matthew Southworth
     
     Crime story set in Portland. Great story and beautiful art. It's fun identifying the locations Southworth used for reference in his art. The book design is gorgeous, as well. An amazing package all around. I hope there's more to come, but in the current comics market, I'm not holding my breath. This book was a birthday present. Thanks, Gemma & Dee!
393. God Save the Queen by Mike Carey & John Bolton.
     
     Urban fantasy. Bolton is a fantastic artist, and this story plays to his strengths.
394. Alpha Flight Classic, vol. 2 by John Byrne. Some awkward story-telling here & there, but still plenty entertaining. I hope we see a third volume of Byrne's run and then another with Mantlo's & Mignola's issues.
395. Boy's Ranch by Joe Simon & Jack Kirby. I've had this book for years but kept putting off reading it. Reading the collection of Simon & Kirby's Sandman comics a few weeks back convinced me to crack it open. I'm glad I did. Fun stuff.
396. The Last Dragon by Jane Yolen & Rebecca Guay.
     
     Comics adaptation of one of Teena's favorite stories by Yolen. Beautifully done. (Borrowed from Teena.)
397. Beards of Our Forefathers: A Collection of Wondermark Comic Strips by David Malki !
     
     Web-comic collection. The creator repurposes art from old magazines, advertisements and books. Very absurd stuff. Lots of fun.
398. All-New Atom: Small Wonder by various. I really enjoyed the end of Gail Simone's run. But the writer who took over after she left made the story entirely too serious.
399. Captain America: The Trial of Captain America by Ed Brubaker, Butch Guice, et al. This continues to be a great series.
400. Zorro, vol. 3: Tales of the Fox by Matt Wagner & Francesco Francavilla.
     
     And with this book, I have completed by 2011 list of A-Z book titles.
     
401. DC Comics Presents: Batman: Blink by Dwayne McDuffie & Val Semeiks. While it is nice to see more of McDuffie's comics collected, it would have been nice if this had come out before he died.

Movies:

• Mystery Science Theater 3000: Manos: The Hands of Fate. Actually watched this a few weeks back but kept forgetting to list it here.
• Doctor Who: The Creature from the Pit. I had seen this once before when PBS showed it in the 80s, but I remembered almost nothing about it. It's quite funny.